


The Alliance

by Coy_Cor



Category: She-Ra - Fandom, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018), Spop - Fandom
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Finn Rockband, Catradora Finn, Entrapdak, Finn shera, Finn/Flora - Freeform, Finnmeowmeow, Flora shera, Future Adora/Catra, Glimbow, Lead singer Finn (she-ra), Multi, Other, Rockband, Rockband AU, Rockband Finn (she-ra), Rockband She-ra, SPOP AU, Scorfuma, She-Ra alternate universe, She-ra - Freeform, She-ra Next Generation, She-ra rockband, Shera - Freeform, Shera Finn, The Alliance, catradora, next-gen (she-ra), princess alliance (she-ra) - Freeform, she-ra au, she-ra next gen, she-ra sword, shera Flora, shera and the princesses of power - Freeform, shera post ending, shera sword, spinnetossa, spop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:09:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27679886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coy_Cor/pseuds/Coy_Cor
Summary: Finn is the lead singer in a popular rock band but that doesn't mean they don't have to face the struggles of growing up and accepting responsibility. Join Finn and their band on an adventure about growing up, finding yourself, and young love. Many twists and turns await!
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra), Glimbow - Relationship, Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra), Netossa/Spinnerella (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra), Scorfuma - Relationship, catradora - Relationship, entrapdak - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AU Warnings: This AU will contain alcohol, language, potential drugs, violence and possible mentions of sexual content ( such as jokes and song lyrics but nothing beyond that). The band members are in their late teens to early twenties. I like to think of it as a PG-13 rating. As the AU grows the tags may begin to show spoilers so be aware!

“Finn!!! Give that back right now!!!” Mother yelled as I ran down the castle hallway. She wasn’t exactly happy that I took her sword.  
“I think I’ll pass!” I gave my best smirk and went to turn the corner but ran right into a brick wall. Or well I ran into my Aunt Sparkles, but honestly what’s the difference. Either way I still ended up on my ass.  
Sparkles had her hands perched on her hips. “Return the sword Finn.”  
There was no use arguing with her. “Ughhhhh… Fine. Here Mother” I handed her the sword, stood up and started fixing my hair. Like Double Trouble always said, you can’t have a perfect day without having perfect hair. Guess I must have styled it wrong this morning.  
“Don’t you think you should apologize!?” Aunt Sparkles, though shorter than me, was very intimidating. She had angry sparkles in her eyes.  
I knew she was right but what’s the fun in that “Don’t you think she should apologize to me for not letting me borrow it!?” I straightened my back in attempt to look even taller, raised my brows and gave Aunt Sparkles a smirk.  
“Cut the crap kid!” My ears dropped and I backed off. I hadn’t heard Mom approaching. “Yes Mom.” Mom was better at the intimidation game than Mother. “I’m sorry Mother. I should’ve taken it at night when you’re were asleep.”  
“Finn!” Mother glared at me. Mom on the other hand was laughing  
“That would have been smarter my child!” She ruffled my hair and put her arm around my shoulders.  
“Catra! Don’t encourage them!” Mother looked at Mom who just smiled at her.  
“What, Adora!? It was funny!” She went back to Mothers side and nudged her with her hip.  
Mother put her face in her hand. “Just run along Finn and don’t do it again.”  
“Okay Mother!” I said with a big smile and took off for the door. Guess I’ll just have to try it again later.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I found myself perched in my favorite tree in the whispering woods. It was in a less dense section not too far off from Brightmoon but still far enough away that few people knew about it. In fact, Flora and my bandmates were really the only ones who knew I came here. The tree was near the edge of a cliff that overlooked several of the towns surrounding Brightmoon as well as a few of the old First One’s ruins. My moms took me to visit the ruins years ago when I was much younger, but I haven’t been back since. Mother was very strict that I was not to go near them without her. “They are very dangerous Finn. You could be hurt, or worse, killed. I don’t want you going near them without me.” She then went on to tell me all the horror stories of nearly dying in the First One’s ruins. Not going to lie, the stories were scary enough to keep me away. Looking out past the ruins you could see the edge of Plumeria. The spot was inspirational and great for thinking. It was easy to get lost in watching the creatures living in the Whispering Woods. My personal favorite being the large, winged beasts that would fly over the woods around sunset. I always thought it would be nice to fly. Some of my best songs and poems came from being perched in the upper branches of the tree watching life go on around me. I let my leg and tail hang down and leaned back against the trunk. I watched the sun slowly start to set. My ears twitched when I heard a light stepping sound approaching. It must be Flora. No one else could walk that lightly. I decided to scare her. Quickly and silently I pulled my leg and tail up out of view and got ready to drop.  
“Finn!!” Flora shouted as she approached the tree. “I know you’re here! Come on!” She had on her favorite light teal dress with the sleeves that wrapped around her upper arms, leaving her shoulders bare. It was a very simple dress but somehow she made it look beautiful. She had a pink shawl draped around her arms but it had pooled at her elbows. That day she had pink rose petals in her white hair. Flora always had petals in her hair and they changed almost on the daily.  
Once she was next to the tree, I dropped inches in front of her. She was a bit shorter than me so I had to look down to hold her gaze. “Hey Flora.” I gave her a big smirk showing my fangs on one side, my hand still holding the branch above me.  
“AAA!! Finn!” She stumbled back with good balance and wide eyes. I swore I saw her blush. “Do you always have to do that!?” She shot me an angry look even though she was smiling. I chuckled and felt my own cheeks turn red. Quickly, I went to fixing my hair and turned away, hoping she didn’t notice.  
“You walk so loudly. I knew you were coming from like a mile away!” I had to mess with her. She’s actually a rather silent walker. She’s the only one other than Perfuma and Mom that can sneak up on me.  
Flora punched me lightly on the shoulder. “So I take it operation sword thief didn’t work?” Flora was now next to me playing with a flower she had conjured up.  
“Mother caught me sneaking out of the room. I made a run for it but damn sparkles was around the corner and stopped me. Ugghh.. They never let me do anything fun.” My ears dropped and I felt Flora’s tail brush my legs. She put her hands on my arms and forced me to face her.  
“I think you mean let you do anything dangerous.” She raised her brows and tilted her head before crossing her arms. She wasn’t wrong. For the most part my moms let me do what I want. But if they thought it was going to be even the slightest bit dangerous, they went into protection mode. It’s why I rarely told them about the bands adventures off the stage.  
I rolled my eyes. “I guess.” I let a small smile escape “I’ll just try again later at night”  
“Yo! Lovebirds! Hurry it up! Or do you want to be late to your own event!?” I hated when Coral called us that. Flora and I were just friends. My lip curled and eyes narrowed as I dropped my ears and shouted back “We’re not lovebirds you bitch!”  
“Finn!” Flora smacked the back of my head rather hard. For being a tiny flower, she sure packed a punch.  
“Ow! What? She deserved it!” I rubbed the spot she hit me and smiled at her. We started off towards Coral. I may think she’s a bitch at times but she’s actually our good friend and bandmate. Well my bandmate. Flora wanted nothing to do with getting on stage. Coral’s outfit matched her attitude. Baggy dark teal sweater, blue and black pleated skirt with a large chain hanging from the side and platform boots with several buckles up the front that made her taller than me. Her hair was a replica of her mother’s dark blue but messy like her father’s. It hung in tangled loose curls around her shoulders. The only thing containing it being a red bandana tied up as a headband.  
“So where’s the sword? Or were you too chicken to steal from She-Ra?” Coral teased once we reached her.  
“Got caught and had to forfeit before getting a face full of glitter.” I put my hands in my pockets and lowered my head. I hated to admit defeat.  
“I thought cats were supposed to be stealthy?” Coral nudged me and I hissed. “Save it for the show Drama Lord!” Coral rolled her eyes. “Speaking of word are you wearing that?” She gestured to my outfit with a raised eyebrow. I forgot I hadn’t changed. “I know you enjoy the open side shirts Finn but come on where’s your usual show pizazz!? AND YOUR MAKEUP!!?? Are you for real doing a show without the flare???” Coral was practically in my face and pulling on all parts of my outfit. Flora just laughed while I turned circles trying to get away.  
“Oh yes Flora so funny…. You’re being such a help right now you know” I glared at her and she just laughed harder. It wasn’t hard to get her to laugh. “You could have told me to change!”  
“OH! I would never DARE give you fashion advice Finn!” Flora said in her best sarcastic tone putting her fists on her hips. She was rarely sarcastic but, oh gosh when she was, she was brutal. She then stuck the flower she had been holding behind my ear and tapped my nose while drug me along.  
I was finally able to wrestle free from Coral and straightened my shirt and bandanna before getting all my hair back to one side. I was careful not to hurt the flower. “I have a spare outfit at Double Trouble’s place. It’s on the way.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Double Trouble’s place wasn’t far from the concert venue. Actually, the venue was owned by Double Trouble’s partner Peekablue. DT and I had been close friends ever since I could remember. They were my theater mentor back when I was still acting, which honestly wasn’t long ago. I still remember the long days of practice and the many “Louder Darlings!” from DT. If I recall correctly, they eventually had to say, “Ok now quieter darling”. This memory brought a smile and chuckle to my face. I missed the theater.  
We arrived at Double Trouble’s house and I flung the door open, I used to pretty much live with DT half the time so they were used to me barging in. I even had my own room. “DT!! Are you home?”  
“Hello Superstar! Aren’t you supposed to be on stage?” DT entered the living room. They had on an elegant black gown with big hoop earrings and stunning eyeliner. Gosh I’m glad I learned how to do makeup from them! They swirled a wine glass while waiting for an answer.  
“I forgot to change before leaving the castle.” I motioned to my current outfit.  
“Oh superstar I’m glad you noticed because I sure didn’t want say anything!” DT made a dramatic motion to my outfit, insinuating that it was horrid. “Come on darling, let’s get you fixed up! Oh, Coral and Flora come in and make yourselves at home! Would you like some wine?” Both Coral and Flora sat in the living room and denied the wine. We have a strict policy in the band about not drinking before shows, though I still took the glass when DT handed one to me. I kept it out of sight of Coral and Flora and downed it before starting the outfit selection process.  
“Easy Superstar! Wine is meant to be tasted not inhaled!” Double Trouble took the now empty glass from me and started helping me get ready. It was nice to be with DT working on outfits and makeup again. It’s been a while. We may have gotten a bit carried away. Outfits were everywhere before we found the perfect fit. I ended up going with something a bit similar to what I always wear on stage. Ripped up black jeans, tight black crop top, and a loose-fitting flannel. Typically, I have my red bandana or a scarf of sorts but this time DT talked me into a red leather choker. I kept my fingerless gloves on since they made holding the mic easier.  
“Ok I know you’re both fashionistas but come on! We’re gonna be late!” Coral appeared in the doorway, followed by Flora.  
“Just finishing the final touches!” I stayed as still as possible as I painted on the last few roses on my face. I would never go on stage without my typical down the eye face paint. Flora helped me design it. She took the sword we use as our band logo and wrapped a green vine with pink roses around it. She thought it would look striking over my eye and it sort of became a thing from then on. “There! Done!” I put the brush down and started to clean the area.  
“Now don’t you worry about cleaning up darling, I can handle it! I don’t want you to be late!” DT ushered us to the door. “And Finn! Don’t forget to stop by more! We miss you at the theater!”  
“Don’t worry! I’ll stop by! You still owe me an eyeliner tutorial!” We waved and started off. Why did they have to bring the theater up?  
Once we were a little ways away both Coral and Flora looked at me and in unison said “YOU QUIT THEARTER??!!” making me wince.  
I knew that question was coming after DT mentioned it but I was still not prepared. I averted my eyes so I didn’t have to make eye contact with either of them. “Uhhh…. Yea… I uh… wanted to put more focus on the band.” My hands went to working with my hair, I hadn’t had much time to work with it at DT’s.  
Both eyed me and looked right into my soul. They were good at seeing through me. Uggghhhh… Lifting my eyes I told them “I’m serious! Theater was taking up a lot of time and I didn’t have the time needed to work on songs and such.” How could I make them believe me? They both knew that theater was pretty much my whole life. “I figured I’d rejoin after I had time to work out more stuff with the band. You know time management and shit.” Coral seemed to have bought it, but Flora was suspicious. I assumed this was a conversation we would be having later. Oh yay. Not a conversation I was looking forward to. Also, maybe I shouldn’t have downed the wine. I was starting to feel the world wobble.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How are you even late??” Agnes was gesturing wildly, their pink and purple hair all frizzy with stress but still managing to sparkle. “We literally left about the same time!” Agnes lived with me in Brightmoon. They’re parents were Sparkles and Bow so we pretty much grew up together.  
“Finn thought it was a great time to play dress up and got stuck looking in a mirror.” Coral teased before pushing us all to the stage. The venue was outdoors but there was a hidden building behind the stage for set up and to keep electrical equipment safe. There was a thick black curtain hanging around the stage to block set up from the audience. Meanwhile, there was a smaller performing area on the ground below the main stage for the opening act, which had already started. Wow we really were late.  
Crystal and Twister were already getting the instruments set up and finalizing the setup on stage. Crystal was our go to for anything technical. She could re-wire an amp in her sleep. Her dark blue pigtails bounced like crazy as she leapt from one side of the stage to the other moving amps and mics and testing sounds. Just as always Emily2 was following her around. Twister was the unofficial manager. She made sure we all drank our water and got where we needed to be, meaning she was not going to happy that I was late. I felt the breeze before she even reached me. “Finn!! What the hell!!??” Her wavy pink curls settling from the wind she had created.  
“I know I know!” I threw my hands up. I may be the one in charge on paper, but she was the real leader. “Won’t happen again!” It was an obvious lie, but I meant well. I stumbled a bit getting up on stage, cursed and went to testing the mic hoping no one saw. What was in that wine? I was never a lightweight. But then again, I usually didn’t down a near full glass of wine in seconds. I started to realize that was a mistake.  
I must have been a bit off balance because Coral glared at me with a grin while she was tuning her bass. “Are you drunk?” Coral could solve a mystery before it even began so it was useless to try and lie but that didn’t mean she needed to know the full truth.  
“I may have had a smidge of wine.” I held my hand up with my fingers barely apart to indicate I had a small amount. She didn’t need to know that I downed almost a full glass of wine.  
“Really Finn!!?? You’re the one who made the no drinking rule!” Coral said just a wee bit too loud. She was right about the rule, but I wish she had not said it that loud. I winced knowing what was coming.  
“YOU’RE DRUNK??!!” Twister yelled. Flora and Agnes were now glaring at me too. Crystal had disappeared to get the lights ready but Emily2 was still there and made a disappointing beep. Great. I was getting shamed by a bot too.  
I waved them off. “I may be slightly tipsy but I’m fine.” That much I knew. I may have been a tad drunk but nothing that I couldn’t function around.  
“You better be!” Twister was already handing me water. “Down this now.”  
I didn’t argue. Coral was laughing because, truth be told, she drank too. This set Twister off on a tangent about the safety of not drinking before shows. While those two dished it out, Flora came up to me with her hands on her hips and a look of disappointment across her face. My ears dropped. I hated seeing her disappointed.  
“Really Finn?” She glared into my soul but not before I caught the smell of wine on her breath. Perhaps she forgot I had a strong sense of smell. But before I could say anything, she was laughing. I just looked at her confused before laughing with her. Her laugh was infectious. “How are you this drunk!?”  
“I may or may not have ‘bottoms up’ed the drink DT gave me. But please don’t tell Twister! I don’t think I can handle downing another glass of water before the performance!” I didn’t have an issue being honest with Flora. We were close friends, and she would have figured it out somehow anyway.  
“Finn! That’s a waste of fine wine!” She seemed more pained by my wine drinking technique than by my decision to drink before the show.  
“Also, I thought you and Coral declined the wine?” It was my turn to give a pretend disappointed look.  
“Double Trouble snuck it to us before joining you in the room. Remember YOU’RE the one who made the no drinking rule. We figured it best for you not to know.” Flora just laughed and fixed the strand of hair hanging in front of my face before I could. “Just don’t stumble mid song! You don’t want to start an accidental crowd surf!” She put a rose in my pocket before wishing me luck and heading backstage. She was always conjuring flowers and trying to stick them on us before shows. I don’t think she’s managed to put one on Coral yet though. Coral was rather anti-flower and was almost as aware of her surroundings as I was, making it very difficult to sneak up on her.  
We all took our places and did one last mic and amp test per Crystal’s demand. I was front and center with the mic. Twister behind me to my right at the drums, Crystal behind to the left at the keyboard, Agnes to my left on the guitar and Coral to my right on the bass. I stole a quick glance to Flora backstage and she waved. Then the lights went out, the crowd cheered, and Twister set the beat. I took a deep breath, put on a smirk, shrugged one side of the flannel off my shoulder, and we were off. The curtain was pulled back and the lights flashed on as the music took off! I tapped out the beat before jumping in with the lyrics. From then on, I was in the lead, the musicians were trained to my antics and could change tempo or melody on a dime but, in the same breath, I had a trained ear to them and could follow their hidden cues. We all jumped about and put on a show. The crowed loved us. I mean who wouldn’t? Not to brag but we were one of the best bands in Etheria. We knew how to keep a crowd going.  
The music slowed as we reached our final song and we got ready for the finale. I couldn’t hold back the smile thinking about our next trick. It was the first time we were attempting it live. As the song faded, vines curled around our feet. Small pink flowers blooming as they grew and wrapped up our instruments. Fog rolled across the vines and then bang! The beat dropped hard and heavy just as Twister and Coral teamed up to create a spinning matrix of water droplets around us that pulsed with the beat. Crystal’s lights added in a strobe effect that followed along. I took off with the lyrics again and Agnes lead the melody. The crowed ate it up! On the final chord stroke, the ball of water droplets exploded, and petals flew from the vines with a gust of wind. We all stared to the crowd panting and exhilarated. It worked. The crowd was on their feet.

PART TWO~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“It worked!!! Wooooo!” I threw my fist in the air and spun, spilling my drink a bit but not caring.  
“Hell yea!” Coral joined in the celebration.  
“Twister, Coral! The water net worked so great!! The crowd went crazy! And Flora! The petal explosion! YES! And Crystal the fog and lights! How’d you even rig that up!?” I was ecstatic and maybe drunk.  
“What no praise for me?” Agnes punched my shoulder with a smile.  
“You had my back out there with the melody! We rocked it!!” I threw my arm around their neck and then my other arm around Flora. It quickly became a band group hug. We were all hanging in the Whispering Woods at our typical spot, which was a meadow not far off from Brightmoon located next to a large rock formation. There was a small campfire going thanks to Coral. We were all dancing around, drinking, and talking about how well the plan went. Well, I may have been the only one dancing. I honestly can’t remember. “I’m going to do it!” I shouted and stared at the others.  
“You want to be more specific?” Coral raised her eyebrows.  
“The sword!” I jumped up on the log I was standing in front of. “If we do what we just did and had the sword hovering in the air above us it would make for a killer album cover!” I was at this point throwing my hands about so before I could spill anymore of my drink, I chugged the rest then jumped back off the log. Flora took the cup from my hands, probably so I wouldn’t refill it. She could tell pretty quick when I was near my limit.  
“Didn’t that plan fail last time oh mighty sword lord?” Coral gave me a smirk.  
“That plan did but this one won’t!” I drunkenly retorted, stumbling a bit when I pointed my finger at her.  
“And what’s your plan this time?” Agnes was now laughing and pulling me to sit down so I didn’t fall into the fire.  
“The exact same as last time just at night when they are for sure sleeping!” I was very drunk. Usually my plans were much more detailed and well thought out.  
“Finn, maybe you should save sword theft for when you are sober. I’d much rather you not cut your tail off.” Twister advised while trying hard not to laugh. I just rolled my eyes at her.  
“Oh! Here Finn!” Crystal tossed a tiny bot thing at me. “It’s a remote camera! That way you can stay hidden and plan the heist better! You know, find the sword before just barging in” Crystal shot me a look that basically said ‘you know, not like last time.’  
“Thanks!” I immediately went to figuring it out, even though my coordination was pretty much gone. It was a remote control that used a tracker pad as the main control unit. I felt Flora’s eyes on me while the others continued to celebrate so I flicked my eyes to her, and she quickly looked away. I had to mess with her. Stretching big and pretending to yawn, I lounged myself across her lap, careful not to rub my face paint on her dress. She inhaled sharply, just barely, but loud enough for my ears to catch, before calming and resting her arms across my side and fixing my flannel so that it covered my shoulders. This was not the first time I’ve laid across her lap, but it still caused me to start purring. I had no control on the purring, especially when drunk. It just happened anytime I was relaxed and or happy. Flora and the bandmates were used to it, though Coral often still teased me about it. I felt my eyes turn heavy and figured I’d close them for a moment. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Finn! Finn!” Flora was rocking me. I just groaned, turned over, and wrapped an arm around her waist. I then felt and heard the sharp and loud breeze of someone blowing on my ear and bolted up, nearly knocking heads with Agnes.  
“What the hell!!??” I hate people blowing on my ears.  
“We have to get going if we want to get back to the castle before daybreak!” Agnes exaggerated but I noticed everyone else had gone. Ughhhh. My head throbbed. I put a hand on my head while I stood up slowly. “Fuck!”  
“Hungover much?” Agnes teased as both them and Flora helped steady me.  
“How long was I out?” A hangover shouldn’t have set in yet right?  
“Like four hours” Flora gave a small laugh. I hadn’t realized I was asleep that long. Flora was always nice about letting me sleep when I needed too. Though I had to admit I was a bit surprised she let me sleep on her lap for four hours.  
“Uuggghhhhh” Agnes handed me a bottle full of water which I nearly downed.  
We headed off towards the castle, Flora heading back to Plumeria. Luckily, once I got moving, I was mostly ok. I was familiar with hangovers at this point. It had just been a while since I had a bad one. It didn’t take us long to reach the castle.  
“You two are late!” Uncle Bow and Mother were waiting for us at the door. Crap.  
“We got a bit caught up celebrating the successful trick!” Agnes beamed. We had told our parents about the water net trick and they insisted we show them before the show. They would typically all come to watch but tonight they had several meetings. Agnes knew bringing up its success would divert both of their attention to being proud and not mad about us being late.  
“Oh I’m so glad it worked!! How did the crowd react!? I’m sure they loved it!” Mother was excited and practically bouncing. Good. Maybe she wouldn’t notice that my ass was drunk. She was fine with me drinking but not when I drank in excess. Mom would have been more chill about it.  
“It went great! The crowd went crazy!” I forced myself to act excited. Good thing I was a trained actor. I really just wanted to get to bed. Her and Bow launched themselves at us and pulled us into a huge hug. That did not mix well with a spinning head. I tried to push away with no success.  
“Dad!! Adora!!” Agnes choked out through the tight hug, making Bow and Mother drop us.  
They kept us talking for good bit before we made it obvious we were tired. Agnes hung in my room a bit while I worked on getting the makeup off. “So are you really going to try it again?”  
I had forgotten about the sword. We needed that picture though. I had already tried asking Mother, but she always said no and that it was too dangerous. My moms were sticklers for safety. Drove me a bit crazy considering their history. Mom taught me how to use her old whip but that’s about it in terms of weapons and fighting. It’s not like I didn’t use to steal the sword all the time when I was a kid. They even found it cute. But once I got older they started to care about safety a lot more.  
“Yo! Etheria to Finn!” I blinked and shook my head. “Yup! Once Mother is asleep.” Hopefully, my head wouldn’t be spinning as much then.  
“Any way I can help out?” Agnes always offered to help but I could always sense the hesitation. They weren’t the best with stealth. Plus, we always seemed to get caught with they helped. I just waved them off and they understood. “I figured once I have it I’ll head out and stay over with Coral.”  
“Not Flora?” Agnes knew me well. We grew up together and I was always sneaking out to Flora or sneaking Flora in. Needless to say Flora and I were very close.  
“Too obvious. Moms would immediately know where I went. It would be best if they didn’t suspect where I was in case they wake up.” I didn’t expect them to wake up early which is why we planned the shoot for early morning at the old Fright Zone, but I still didn’t want to risk it.  
“Makes sense! Come get me before you head out and I’ll go too!” I thought about this for a minute. If they stayed here to cover for me, how would they explain the missing sword?  
“Sounds good to me.” I finished getting all the face paint and makeup off. “Ok time for you to leave! I’m going to change into something easier to sneak around in. Be sure to pack a bag for anything you need for the shoot.” Agnes left and I put on a loose crop top and shorts. I also took the time to put my foot wraps back on. They made it easier to grip the slippery castle floors. I threw a bag together with my outfit for the shoot and all the makeup. It was still a bit early to try the stunt, so I took a moment to meditate. No one knew I did this except Flora. She taught me how to focus my mind. It worked great in moments like this when I needed a clear head or when I just needed to slow down my thoughts.  
By the time I finished the mediation, I was calm and focused, and it was time to go, adrenaline pushing the hangover away. I dropped my bag off with Agnes before sneaking down towards my moms’ room. I hid around a corner and sent the bot to the door. Locked. Damn it. I heard the guards approaching and used the table next to me to hoist myself up to the ceiling. I knew how to balance myself between the walls and not be seen. Once they passed, I dropped quietly and headed for the castle garden. I knew I could get in their room from the balcony. It took no time at all to climb up to the ledge. Staying hidden I sent the bot in to see where she had her sword. Crap! They put some sort of charm on the entrance creating an invisible barrier. They must have guessed I would try to steal the sword again. Well this was a great time to practice the sorcery Mica had been teaching me. While staying hidden behind the outer wall, I drew up a spell that was used for dropping shields. After a deep breath, I pushed the spell forward to the wall. I tested the wall again with my claws and it worked! “YES!” Shit! I covered my mouth and crouched down. OK, celebrate later. I sent the bot in. Melog was asleep at the foot of the bed with both my moms fast asleep. Using the tracker pad that Crystal gave me, I moved the bot through the room till I found the sword under mother’s pillow. Of course she slept with the damn sword. I walked the bot back to me and put it away before sliding into the room and staying low to the ground. I crouched and crawled along the base of the bed till I reached mother’s side. Melog stayed asleep too. Good. I stopped my breathing long enough to steadily pull the sword out from Mother’s pillow. She groaned and turned. I dropped to the floor and got ready to bolt but she stayed asleep. I let out a silent breath and silently started making my way to the balcony, but before I could get there I heard “Finn?” in a quiet and tired voice. I turned and saw mom sitting up in bed. Her yellow and blue eyes glowing. Shit. I froze. She glanced at mother before smiling and putting a finger to her lips and laying back down. She was helping me? I didn’t hesitate and bolted to the outside of Agnes’ room. I climbed in through the window and dropped a bit heavier than I anticipated. The hangover kicking back in now that the adrenaline was calming down.  
“Finn!” Anges startled. They were obviously not expecting me to come in via the window.  
“Let’s go!” I whispered back as I grabbed my bag.  
We left via the window and ran to the Whispering Woods before stopping to make sure we weren’t followed. Once I knew we were clear, I let out a congratulatory shout! Perhaps too soon.  
“Mrow?” Melog was staring at us with a note in their mouth. I took the note and read it out loud. “Be safe and get your ass home before your mother wakes up. Good luck with the photoshoot. Love, your cool mom. Ps. Melog is going with you to make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”  
“Wait? Catra knows you took the sword?” Agnes seemed worried.  
“Yea she caught me escaping and just gave me the signal that she wouldn’t say anything.” I was still a bit shocked honestly. I mean she’s helped me before when I was a mere kitten but never when I was old enough to actually injure myself. I shook my head to clear my thoughts “Let’s go. Come on Melog. We are going to Salineas.” Melog urged us to climb on, they must have been able to sense my lack of balance. We didn’t hesitate. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coral was very shocked when we showed up at her bedroom door with the sword and Melog. She opened the door half asleep wearing a baggy shirt and boxers. Her hair a crazy mess and her eyes barely open “Not gonna lie I thought you were too chicken. Also what..?” She just pointed to Melog.  
“Last time I checked I was a cat not a chicken and turns out mom is cool with me stealing the sword as long as Melog joins. Mother still doesn’t know” I explained and tossed the sword across my shoulders. This made Melog growl, but I assured them I was being careful.  
“Also, maybe send a warning before just showing up?” Coral yawned and motioned for us to come inside. The Salineas castle was very different than the one at Brightmoon. It was underwater for the most part, except the entryway. From what I’ve been told it wasn’t always that way, but after the Fall of Salineas in the Horde War they had to re-build it. Because of this, Coral’s windows looked out into the ocean and you could see all sorts of fish swim by. At night you could see the bioluminescent jellyfish. Melog enjoyed this. “So why bug me and not your girlfriend at this hour Finn?”  
I knew she probably was referring to Flora but I sill tossed her a confused look and tilted my head in attempt to play dumb. “Girlfriend?”  
“Really Finn?” I just blinked at her, knowing full well who she meant. She threw a pillow at me. “Your flower goddess?” She motioned to the rose in my pocket. I had moved it to my new pants pocket when I changed. I thought it looked nice with the outfit.  
“We’re not dating ,you know that right?” I gave a flat glare to Coral. I really hated her teasing me about it “We’re just good friends.” Agnes choked back a laugh and Coral raised her eyes.  
“Not dating YET” she smiled at me. I felt my cheeks go red and I chucked the pillow back at her.  
“Drop it Coral. I said we are just friends. That means we are just friends. Plus, she’s the first person my mother would think I stayed with if she wakes up to see the sword gone.”  
Coral just rolled her eyes and fussed at us to get sleep. Agnes and I curled up against opposite sides of Melog. I couldn’t sleep right away. I was still thinking about the sword and the concert and Flora. Wait. Why was I thinking about Flora? I noticed quickly that I had been playing with the rose from my pocket. I tossed it with the sword, let out a quite sigh, and threw my face into Melog’s side. I should never drink again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let the Angst begin. Being a rockstar isn't all easy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings!  
> This chapter begins the angst of the AU. Extra warnings for this chapter are mentions of anxiety and panic. There is another warning that is related but the warning is a spoiler so just be aware. Rating for this AU is roughly pg-13

Waking up early after little sleep was not my favorite task but, I also was not about to be late to the photo shoot. I chucked a pillow at Coral who tossed it right back mumbling something about it being too early. Agnes was only slightly more enthusiastic than Coral in that they didn’t require a pillow toss to wake up. I was already dressed and ready. Agnes didn’t take long to get up and head to Coral’s bathroom to start getting ready. Coral on the other hand was refusing to wake up. She just needed some encouragement. I ripped the cover off of her and when that didn’t work, I jumped on her. She startled and her fight instinct kicked in, as I expected it would. She twisted us around so that she was over me. I just gave her a smirk and kicked her off the bed. My plan had worked. She shot me an angry glare and sent the water by her bed flying into my face with the flick of her hand. I doubled over laughing, and Coral was cussing under her breath. As soon as her back was turned, I drew up a spell and sent the water flying into the back of her head.  
“Fuck you Finn!” She launched herself at me with her teeth bared, half growling and pinned me down. At this point her and I had the same competitive look as we wrestled trying to pin each other.   
“Really…?” Agnes appeared in the doorframe and we paused to glance at them. “You two really can’t be left alone for two minutes, can you?” Coral and I gave each other agreeing looks and chucked pillows at Agnes, who ducked just in time. Coral then got up and headed to get ready. Once she was out of the room Agnes shot me a raised eyebrow in which I just laughed and shook my head before getting up to retrieve the sword. The flower Flora gave me was still healthy and so I put it back in my pocket, but not before lifting it to my nose. Was it weird that it smelled like Flora?  
“You really are the ladies’ cat, aren’t you?” Agnes nudged me and my ears perked up big. Their comment took me off guard. But as fast as my ears went up, they dropped, and I narrowed my eyes at Agnes.   
“I get it I get it! They’re both just your friends!” They threw their hands up in surrender but ducked their eyes with a smile showing that they didn’t believe the words they said.  
“Ugggghhh.. Agnes your supposed to be on my side! You can’t betray me now! You know I’m serious when I say Flora and I are just friends.” I sent Agnes pleading eyes. I did not need another person teasing me about Flora and I.  
“I know Finn. I’m just messing with you.” Agnes gave a soft smile and put their hand on my shoulder, but that’s when it registered.  
“Wait? Did you say both?” They better not be talking about Coral. And as soon as I thought it, they motioned their eyes toward the bathroom where Coral was. “NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!” I shook my head and waved my hands making Agnes laugh. Before I could say anything else, Coral reappeared.   
“You ok Drama Lord?” Coral shot me a puzzled look.   
“I’m not teleporting.” I put my hand to my face and turned to the door. I knew how to deflect conversations. “Time to go. We don’t want to be late.”

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I may have forgotten that with Melog we would get to the Old Fright Zone much faster. Teleporting via Melog was way smoother than when Agnes did it. I refused to let Agnes teleport me. The Old Fright Zone was quite a sight. Old metal buildings and pipes intertwined with vines and other odd plants. Many creatures found the now empty buildings to be home but not all of the Old Fright Zone was empty. Many people still lived there too, though the conditions have greatly improved from what I’ve been told. Technically, the place was Scorpia’s kingdom, but she chose to stay in Plumeria with Perfuma instead.   
“See, I told you it was too early Finn!” Coral shot me a very grumpy look.   
“You can never be too early or too ready for a photo shoot” I didn’t even look up at her and instead continued to work on adding volume to my hair and fixing my makeup using the small mirror I brought with me. We were the first ones to arrive, which was no surprise.  
“Uggghhhhh!!!! Why did I get stuck with Drama Lord!!??” Coral threw her head back and her hands up while rolling her eyes. “Agnes, you agree right? It’s way too early!?”  
“Actually, going to have to side with Finn on this one. At least this way we may get the chance for a sunrise picture.” We barely got any sleep last night. Celebrated a wee bit too late and agreed to meet for photos an hour before sunrise. In total, we each got maybe two or three hours of sleep. “Anyway, it gives us the chance to discuss the important things. So, Finn, any luck on a tour name?”  
Our band had become rather popular and we were potentially getting offered a funded tour. We had a big concert coming up in which the organization that would be hosting the tour was going to judge our performance to see if we were worth their time. But we all agreed it would be best if we had everything in order before that concert so, if asked, we would sound prepared. “Nothing yet.” I stared off at the Old Fright Zone, my eyes allowed me to see pretty well in the dark.   
“What do you mean not yet!? Finn you are like the master of dramatic names?” Coral was shocked. For good reason too. Typically, I spat song and show names on the spot. But this one had me a bit more puzzled. It had to be meaningful to the band yet catchy enough to draw attention.   
“Well do you have any bright ideas Water Girl?” I shot an annoyed glance to Coral.   
“What about…. The Alliance Strikes Back!” Coral beamed as if she just said the best name in the world.   
“That sounds like a comeback tour….like as if the band had broken up because, I don’t know, Finn now has a kid or something, but then there’s a serious midlife crisis and the band gets back together because they all miss each other.” Agnes scoffed.  
“Wait! Why am I the one who has to have the kid?” I shot a look of betrayal to Agnes.  
“Because you’re the lead singer! It’s always the lead singer! Ugghhh fine, you don’t have to have a kid but you have to at least cause drama like.. hmmm… oh! A love triangle!” Agnes explained. I just groaned and put my hands to my face, carful not to smudge my makeup.  
“Let me guess, Drama Lord likes Flora but Flora is in love some hippie dude?” Coral shot me raised eyebrows. I blushed and threw my hands down from my face to argue but Agnes beat me to it.  
“No. It would have to include band members to add to the drama and cause a fracture between the trust of the band so maybe….” Agnes paused to think. “You and Finn are dating, because you know the bassist is also always involved,”  
“I thought that was the guitarist?” Coral asked with a frown and glared at Agnes.  
“Yes but Finn and I are practically siblings so that wouldn’t happen. So you and Finn. But Finn develops feelings for Flora and goes behind your back and cheats on you but you catch them! Big fight then the band splits! But years later everyone realizes the childish mistake and wants to get the band back together.” Agnes smiled at Coral and I who were glancing back and forth between each other and Agnes with our jaws slightly dropped. Both of us wide eyed.   
“You put waaaaayyyy toooo much thought into that Sparkles Jr.” Coral was actually blushing, but I guessed it was out of embarrassment not nerves.  
“Yea. I would never cheat on anyone!!” I shot Agnes another look of betrayal.   
“Really Drama Lord? Aren’t you like the master of deception and acting?” Coral crossed her arms and smirked.   
“Hey! I may come across as your stereotypical Rockstar heartbreaker, but you both know damn well I’m loyal!” I retorted. Coral scoffed quietly and her smile dropped as she lowered her gaze, Agnes probably didn’t hear her. My eyes widened and my mouth stayed open very briefly before I too ducked my gaze. “Yea…. Ummm so uhhh” I cleared my throat. “Any tour name ideas from you Agnes!” Anything to get the topic off of me and Coral.   
Agnes just stared at us before jumping in “How about… The Alliance: Dawn of She-Ra!” They could sense the push to change topics. They better not ask me about this later. Luckily, Agnes was much less nosey than Flora.   
“No. I am not naming the tour after my Mother. Also, that sounds like a dramatic movie retelling of the tales of She-ra!” I retorted with a sigh and laid my back down on the metal grating I had been sitting on. “I’ll think of something soon.”  
We continued to banter back and forth about tour names and ideas while waiting on the others to arrive. Crystal and Twister were the first ones to join us since they were in charge of getting the equipment set up. Those two were inseparable. They’ve been best friends since way before the start of the band. Similar to Flora and I. They knew how to work around each other, which for the most part was just Crystal telling Twister what to and not to do with the tech equipment. Twister was in charge of the band vehicle that we used to cart instruments and ourselves around. It was a big tank like vehicle from the Horde War that Crystal had modified, with the help of her mother Entrapta, to have bunks and separate rooms for storage, hanging out, and sleeping. It was especially great for longer distance concerts.  
“You’re early! After the concert yesterday I fully expected you to be the last one to arrive.” Twister smirked at me with one eyebrow up.   
“Oh! But it’s for a photoshoot! Finn would never be late for a date with a camera!” Flora had snuck up behind me and stood over me giving me a sarcastic smile.  
“Hey! I’m usually never late to anything!” I sat up and turned to give her a proper angry glare.   
“Except your own concerts!” Twister was smiling at me.   
“That was one time!” I snaped back.  
“Actually it was four and before you all start fighting how about you get your asses over here before the sun comes up!” Crystal yelled over all of us and waved for us to join her at the Old Fright Zone building. We all listened because otherwise Emily2 would start pushing us. “Ok so I’m thinking we should utilize the balcony system that runs along the outside of the building with each of us in different spots yet keeping the picture balanced. Finn you should be on the ground front and center since you are the lead and then Agnes and Coral should be on the ladders leading to the second level since you are typically beside Finn. Then Twister and I up on the balcony since our roles tend to be in the back. We should do a few takes with and without instruments of course to see what looks best. Also, some takes with and without the water net and vines. Flora, Emily2, and I guess Melog? Wait. Melog?” Crystal just looked confused and turned to face me. That’s when Twister and Flora also realized that Melog was with us. I explained what happed as quickly as I could before ushering Crystal to continue the photoshoot rundown. We didn’t want to risk losing the sunrise opportunity. “Well, as I was saying Flora, Emily2 and now Melog too will be in charge of the photography. Emily2 knows how to work the camera and can lead that section. Flora is good with angles and details so she’s in charge of that.” Crystal was phenomenal with being able to picture a scene and then bringing it to life. She was always in charge of any band related designs. Other than the logo of course. That was Coral and I’s design when we started the band a few years back.   
Crystal took to positioning us before commanding Emily2 to get ready for the pictures. As soon as the sun started to rise, Emily2 started with the pictures. We hurried to get two sets in, one with instruments and one without, before we lost the golden glow and shade effect of the sunrise as it came up over the building. Then we prepped for the big one.  
“Okay small break then let’s get back to it” Crystal took off to start rigging up the strobe lights and fog machines.  
I went to fixing my makeup and outfit for the next set when Flora came up next to me.   
“So technically your theft plan failed. And you call yourself a master of stealth!” She mocked me with her hand on Melog’s back, who just meowed and nuzzled her face.  
“Hey! I have the sword don’t I?” I narrowed my eyes, leaned towards her, and gave her a smirk. “So technically not a failure!”   
She put her hands on her hips and leaned in too. “You got caught. It’s not a successful heist if they catch you. Then it’s just called a gift.” She tapped my nose. “So looks like you’ll have to be demoted to novice of stealth.” She shot me a look to tell me she knew she won and leaned back. I felt myself start to blush but before I could snap out of it and give her a retort back, I was interrupted.   
“Okay are we ready for the big one!?” Crystal was practically bouncing up and down as we gathered around her. “Finn you will still be front and center with your hand up, holding the mic. The rest of us will be in our typical positions with our instruments. Flora will then position the vines, and it’s alright for them to wind up us and be more dramatic than what we did at the concert. I will then que the lights and fog. Then it will be up to Twister and Coral to do the water net. Got it?” I held the sword up since she seemed to not know that I had it. “OH! Sword! Twister do you think you can float the sword and manage the net?”   
“Depends. Where is it going to be floating?” Twister eyed me specifically, knowing I was thinking up something dangerous.   
“Above me.” I said flat faced and glaring back at her.   
“Then no. I am not floating a sword above you Finn!” Twister’s mom voice came out.   
“No need.” I drew up a rune that Mica had taught me and then pushed it to the sword. It started to float, and I was able to lift it up.   
“Hold on now. Didn’t you tell me you had problems with that rune holding up?” Agnes began the interrogation. My ears dropped. I wish they had just kept their mouth shut.   
“It’ll be fine. But the longer we take the more likely I get impaled so maybe let’s get started?” I moved into position not giving anyone time to argue. I didn’t steal the sword for nothing.   
“MROW?!” Melog grabbed my tail and yanked me back. I gave a very loud hiss with all my fangs exposed and swatted at Melog with my claws out. I didn’t actually hit Melog, just gave a warning. Melog released my tail but I had already lost my focus on the spell and the sword fell to the ground behind me.   
“What the fuck Melog!?” I was pissed and holding my tail.   
Quickly Melog grabbed the sword changed shape so that they were much taller and went invisible. This gave the appearance that the sword was floating. My ears perked up and I let go of my tail.   
“I like Melog’s idea!” Twister had a huge smile on her face.  
“Agreed! I’d rather not have to fix Finn.” Crystal chimed in.  
“Fine fine. But the spell would have worked had Melog not yanked my tail.” I brushed my tail over Melog on my way to my spot to let them know I appreciated their help.   
Once we were all in place Emily2 gave the que to start. Crystal set off the fog and lights, Flora positioned the vines, and Twister and Coral created the spinning water net around us. Emily2 began the countdown to the start of the photos but Flora quickly interrupted. “Wait!!” She created a vine that weaved around the sword with roses budding off of it, just like the facepaint I wore. “There!” None of us argued since we all knew Flora had an eye for details like that. Emily2 re-started the countdown and then was off taking photos from all different angles and positions. They were very fast and the shoot was over before we knew it.   
“Hold on! Keep the net going!” Crystal yelled. “Flora! Get in here! Next to Finn! Back to back!”   
“Emily2! You too! Set the Camera to auto and get up there with Crystal!” I added. The bot was part of our team. “You good Melog?”  
“Mrow!” Melog meowed back in confirmation.   
“Ok! Ready?” I turned to everyone and they all gave the thumbs up. “Ok Emily2 do your thing!”  
Emily2 set the camera to auto, or perhaps it was a distance mode. Emily2 could remotely control the camera. Once set they and Flora darted into position, Coral and Twister making a brief opening in the net so they didn’t get wet. As soon as Flora was next to me, I felt her revive the rose that was still in my pocket. I gave her a quick smile before returning to position.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The photoshoot ended after we did individual shots, but we hung around and chatted a bit before Melog began meowing like crazy and tugging at Agnes and I. My ears went up and my eyes widened. Melog was in tune to my Mom and could tell she must be worried. Mother must be about to wake up.   
“LET’S GO FINN!” Agnes grabbed my arm and we hopped onto Melog without much warning to the others except a panicked goodbye.   
Melog got us back into Agnes’s room before leaving to check on Mom. Agnes still looked panicked. “How are you going to get the sword back if Adora is about to wake up?”   
I ignored them for a minute while I pulled out the tracker pad and mini bot. I set the bot in the hallway and sat on the floor. Agnes sat next to me and looked over my shoulder. I started to guide the bot towards my moms’ room to check what was happening. Luckily, the door was open just a smidge. The bot easily slipped in. My moms were no where to be seen but I knew better than to look for them. Instead, I grabbed the sword and, with the tracker pad in hand, went to return the sword. Agnes followed me, invested in the mission. Also, we both agreed it would be easier to return the sword with two people. One could keep watch for the other. We stayed calm and tried to look casual as if we were working on something band related while we walked, keeping the sword hidden in front of us.  
“FINN GREY MEOWMEOW!! AGNES ANGEL ARCHER!!” We both froze as Mother’s voice roared behind us. She never used my full name unless it was serious. Slowly we both turned, my ears dropped. Mother looked furious. “DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TROUBLE YOU TWO ARE IN!?” Mother walked briskly with posture to grab the sword and tracker pad from me. It jolted me a bit when she took the tracker pad. “This sword is not a toy you two! You could have been seriously hurt!”   
I had my mouth open and hand up waiting till she stopped ranting so I could speak. “Mother… MOTHER!” She just glared at me. “Agnes had nothing to do with it. I’m the one who took the sword. They did not help in anyway. Honestly, they didn’t even know I was planning to steal it.” That last part was a lie but I wasn’t about to let Agnes take the fall on this one. Agnes shot me a confused look which I cut off with narrowed eyes. They caught my hint and nodded in agreement.   
Mother looked a bit taken aback. It wasn’t normal for me to be upfront and take the blame. Truth was I was tired and knew arguing would just delay my nap, and I felt a little bad for going behind Mother’s back. “Fine. Agnes you can go.” With that Agnes took off briskly but not before whispering under their breath so that only I could hear, that they would get the bot.   
“What’s all the ruckus Princess?” Mom approached Mother and stretched up to kiss her check.   
“Finn. Sword.” Mother did not take her gaze from me and I could feel I was about to get a big lecture. Mom’s ears dropped as she realized I hadn’t been able to return the sword in time. “Finn. You know we love you but behavior like this is completely irresponsible! Swords are weapons and not toys or decorations for your band. Someone could have been seriously hurt! Or what if I needed it? Did you think of that? No! You were being selfish!” I dropped my head in defeat. She was right.  
“I’m sorry Mother.” I started to comb my fingers through my hair and kept my gaze on the floor.   
“Adora.” Mom put her hand on Mothers arm. “Finn was safe and careful with the sword. I sent Melog to watch over the band while they had it.”   
“YOU KNEW!!!??” Mother swatted Mom’s hand away.   
“Yes Adora. I caught Finn sneaking out with the sword. They’re old enough to take care of themselves. Plus, as I said, I sent Melog for safety.” Mom talked calmly but with frustration.  
“Finn, I think it’s time for you to go to your room. Don’t think you’re getting out of this without consequences. You’re grounded. No leaving the castle and no band rehearsal tomorrow.” Moms very rarely restricted my band events since they were proud of the band and knew how much it meant to me. I lifted my hand like I was going to argue but then thought better of it.   
“Can I have the tracker pad back, please?” I shot Mother a puppy dog eyed look and used please to make it more convincing. “I need it to contact the band and let them know I won’t be at rehearsal.” In reality, I just wanted to message Flora.   
Mother paused and thought for a second before saying she’d have Agnes let the band know. I just nodded with lowered ears and started off to my room. As soon as my door was closed, I flopped on the bed and sighed. I stayed there for a few minutes before getting up to take off the makeup. Falling asleep with bright paint on my face seemed like a bad idea. I also put-on shorts and took off my flannel and scarf. My band outfits were eye catching and fun but far from the most comfortable. Yawning, I crawled into bed to take a nap. At least I now had an excuse to rest tomorrow. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
I woke up from my nap to my stomach growling. Other than the few snacks that Twister brought to the shoot, I hadn’t eaten anything today. I knew the Brightmoon kitchen would have something, so getting out of bed, I put on a sleeveless white crop top with open sides and headed to the kitchen. My nap must have been longer than I anticipated as it was nearly dark out. On my way to the kitchen, I heard loud shouting coming from my moms’ room. They were always arguing about stupid things like which ice cream flavor was better or who was faster so I didn’t think anything of it. I just smiled, shook my head and kept walking. Until I heard my name. I stopped, wide eyed. They were fighting about me? I backtracked and put my ear to the door.   
“They’re irresponsible! No! Both of you are! How could you go behind my back like that Catra!?” I had never heard Mother’s voice this angry.   
“You need to let Finn grow up Adora! They’re not a kid anymore! You need to let them learn things on their own and not keep them cooped up in this damn castle!” Mom sounded pissed.   
My knees locked and my hand went to my mouth. I let my back rest on the door and slid to the floor, curling my tail around my ankles. I knew I shouldn’t be eavesdropping and honestly, I didn’t want to be, but I couldn’t move. My moms had never sounded this angry. This fight was real.  
“I do not keep Finn locked in this castle! You know damn well I let them run around with their friends and learn things for themself! I just have no intention of letting them handle dangerous weapons until they can prove they are responsible!”   
“No Adora. You KEEP Finn from learning things for themselves! You keep them in a fucking safety blanket! How many times did they ask you to TEACH them to use the sword? How many times did they ASK to borrow it for a single picture? Adora you could’ve offered to teach them sword safety but no. Instead, you blocked them from ever touching a weapon! And look how that worked out! You’re no better than Shadow Weaver!” I could hear the fire in Mom’s voice when she spoke. This wasn’t one of their petty arguments. And it was all my fault. They continued back and forth. At one point I think one of them threw something and I saw the flash of Mother turning into She-ra. I was frozen. My heart was pounding and the world around me was disappearing. I wanted to run, to get away and hide, but I couldn’t. Tears rolled down my check and I felt myself start to hyperventilate. They were fighting because of me. I barely saw Glimmer and Bow walking towards me.   
“Finn!” Glimmer put her hands on her hips and scowled, too far away to see me crying. “Are you eavesdropping on your moms?” I tried to lift my head, to face her, but I stayed frozen with my hands on my face, curled up as tight as I could. “Finn?” Glimmer’s voice softened. “FINN!? What’s wrong?” Her and Bow started to rush to me. Glimmer knelt and put a hand on my back and a hand on my knee, almost as if she were trying to hold me. Bow had a hand on my other shoulder. Glimmer looked at the door, realizing what my moms were yelling about. “Bow, take Finn to their room. Finn, it’s going to be ok. You’re moms are idiots who fight all the time. I promise things will be ok. OK Finn?” She put her hands on my cheeks while Bow lifted me to my feet. I was still frozen but managed to give her a small nod. Bow guided me down the hallway towards my room, half carrying me, but not before I heard Glimmer open the door and start yelling at my Moms. I don’t know what she said. I couldn’t focus on the words. Bow sensed my tension.  
“Finn. Finn! Look at me” Bow stopped me, put his hands on my shoulders and forced me to hold his gaze. “Breath in.” He took a big breath and I copied. “Breathe out.” He exhaled and I copied. He did this with me a few times before having me count up to and down from ten. This helped me regain some of my focus again and gave me a chance to process what was happening. My hands went to combing my hair. Bow just looked at me and smiled. “It’s going to be ok Finn. Your moms love you dearly. They may be idiots at times but they still love you.” I just nodded. Bow then stopped and pulled me into a hug. The crying started again and I went limp in his hold.   
“It’s my fault.” Is all I could muster.   
“FINN! NO! It is not your fault! Your moms are just intense and can’t settle things normally. Don’t forget they started a war because they couldn’t express their emotions.” This made me chuckle a bit and I offered Bow a smile to say thanks. He smiled back and walked with me the rest of the way to my room, keeping his arm around me. I knew my Moms still loved me. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I started their fight.   
“Is there anything you need before I go?” Bow asked as I got onto my bed. He seemed worried about me.   
“Umm.. maybe some food. I haven’t really eaten today.” My ears dropped. I wasn’t overly hungry anymore, but I knew Bow would feel better about leaving me if I had a request that he could help with.   
“Of course! I will be right back” Bow took off to the kitchen and I curled my knees to my chest. I still couldn’t shake the fight.   
Bow returned quickly with a whole plate of things including cake, which was the first thing I took a bite of. This made Bow smile and he gave me one last hug before leaving. Once the door was shut, I got up and locked my door, not wanting to be bothered. I finished the food faster than I probably should have; my appetite had returned after tasting food. After clearing the bed, I laid down and curled up, but I couldn’t sleep. I let my eyes wander to the flower Flora had given me. It was starting to wilt since I never put it in water. That didn’t stop me from bringing it to my nose. I stayed like that, curled up with the rose to my nose, breathing in and out slowly, for what felt like forever. Lowering the flower, I closed my eyes and let my mind go blank, or at least I tried to let my mind go blank. I could still hear the yelling, having no idea if it was my memory or in real time. That was it. I needed to get out of the castle. I put the flower in my pocket and opened my window to crawl out. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
I quietly and quickly climbed the vine outside Flora’s window, being sure to stay in the shadows so no one could see me. Once at her window, I lightly taped on the glass with my claws. I knew Flora would still be awake, so I didn’t feel too bad. Though honestly, she was used to me sneaking over at wee hours in the morning anyway.  
“I take it you got grounded?” she smirked when she opened the window.  
“Not even a hello?” I huffed sarcastically before stepping inside. Once inside I immediately went to sit on her bed. I was tired, “but yea grounded.”   
Flora just smiled and came to sit behind me. She started braiding a small flower vine into my hair. Other than Double Trouble, she was the only person I would let touch my hair. “Well, on a good note, I looked through the photos from this morning and I think you have your new album cover!” She slid her hands over my shoulders and down to my elbows before resting her chin on my shoulder to look at me with a smile. I glanced down and gave her a smile back. That was good to know. We hadn’t had much time to look through the photos before having to go. She then sat back up, tapped me on the nose and narrowed her eyes “So Finn. Are you going to explain why you quit theater?” Damn it. There it was. Flora knew me very well so she probably already guessed that I hadn’t chosen to quit. Theater was practically my life and she knew it. I just wasn’t wanting to have this conversation right now. Not after everything that had happed, but there was no dodging the question now.   
I dropped my ears without thinking and decided I could try and lie. “Like I said, I needed more time for the band. Writing songs and planning routines and such takes a lot of time. I figured take a small break from theater to focus on the band and get it going in the direction we want then if time allows I’ll rejoin the theater. Especially with the potential tour coming up.” I thought maybe, just maybe she would believe me if I made it about the tour.  
“Mmm hmmm…yea and let me guess, next you’re going to tell me Etheria is back in Despondos?” Flora had one eyebrow raised with her hands perched on her hips glaring at me. She caught me. I sighed and then shifted so that I was mostly facing her. My legs were crossed, and I curled my tail around my feet in front of me. I couldn’t look at her when I told her the truth because I knew she would be disappointed.  
“I got kicked out.” My ears dropped as low as they could go and I slumped over a bit, using my hair to hide most of my face from her.   
I felt her move my hair out of the way so she could look me in the eyes before asking in a very calm but concerned voice “What happened?”  
I lifted my head and sighed. I really was not wanting to have this conversation. Tears started to form but I held them back. “I… um… got into a fight.”  
“Rose!” she sounded more worried than mad. “Are you ok?” It made me smile when she used her nickname for me. When her and I were much younger we had a big conversation about what flowers reminded us of each other. She told me I was a rose, elegant and rich in beauty, belonging on a stage. I told her she was lavender, simple and modest, yet powerful and calming. From then on we called each other by those names. Though lavender got shortened to Lav over the years. We were the only two who knew about the names and we only used them when we were alone. The band would only tease us if they found out and the names were sort of like a secret inside thing between Flora and I, we didn’t want to share that with anyone else. Flora had now shifted closer to me and was looking at me with wide eyes almost as if she was searching for evidence of the fight.   
I smiled and laughed lightly. “I’m fine Lav. It happed a while ago. Like maybe a month now? But it was a bad enough fight to get kicked out of Prince Peekablue’s theater troupe. Double Trouble forgave me quickly since it was about an outfit and I was right but Peekablue did not. In fact, I think he’s still mad.” My smile dropped at the thought that I may not be able to rejoin the theater.  
“I’m sure he’ll forgive you. I mean come on. You’re the star student!! The Protegee!” Flora beamed. I knew she was just trying to cheer me up and honestly it was working. Just being around Flora was enough to put my mind at ease. But then she caught what I said. “Wait. You fought over an outfit?” She raised her eyebrow again and paused before continuing. “Honestly not sure why that surprises me.” She just laughed and waved her hand at me. I couldn’t help but smile.   
“You should have seen the other person!” I laughed with her. Flora was shaking her head with her eyes lowered, and I couldn’t help but stare. In this moment I wanted nothing more than to be close to her. To tell her what happened. To curl up in her arms.   
“Only you Finn, only you!” She looked at me and kept laughing. I laughed with her before deciding to tackle her to the bed, wrapping my arm around her waist and resting my head on her shoulder.  
“FINN!” She was laughing harder now “MY DRESS!” She was trying to wrestle her dress back to a more appropriate position while I was trying to give her a bear hug. This just made us laugh more. Typically, we never curled up like this but on occasion, when one of us was upset, it was nice to just be close. Flora ruffled my hair into a giant mess before resting her hand on my shoulder. Still laughing under my breath, I pulled her as close as possible and buried my face in her neck. This felt nice. Comforting. Flora always made me feel calm. Safe.   
“Finn!” Flora was just giggling like crazy, probably from my ear tickling her neck. She slowly stopped laughing before looking at me with a concerned face. “Is everything ok?”   
My eyes went wide but I stayed next to her. It was starting to hit me again. The fight. My mom’s words back and forth. The screaming. All because of me. I just grabbed a fistful of Flora’s dress and started crying.   
“Finn! Finn!” Flora turned so that we were now facing each other. She pulled me to her and I just curled up into her chest while she rested her chin on my head. “You’re ok. It’s ok my Rose.” She ran one hand through my hair and the other on my back. I told her everything through soft sobs. I told her about my moms shouting at each other behind the closed door. About what they said. About how I was the cause.   
“Oh Rose!” Flora wrapped her arms and tail around me and pulled me as close as she could, resting her chin on my head. She stayed like that until I started to calm. She then relaxed, moving her hand from my back to my hand and offering me a rose. She knew roses were my favorite. I took the rose, closed my eyes and brought it to my nose. This made me smile. Flora rested her forehead on mine and we stayed like that for what seemed like forever.   
Neither of us heard the footsteps approaching the door. “Finn!” Perfuma threw the door open and I bolted upright my eyes wide and my hair all messed up and in my face, Flora’s little braid still intact. Shit shit shit. I was not ready for another big fight. It’s not that our mothers weren’t used to us sneaking in and out to see each other but they also knew we tended to do it only when we were in trouble. But that’s when I noticed Perfuma had on a gentle expression and a small smile. She came to sit on the edge of the bed, Flora now sitting up as well. Perfuma moved the massive tangle of my hair from my face and placed her hand on my cheek before taking my hands in hers. “Glimmer told me.” And she then hugged me. I threw my arms around her and before I knew it I was being lifted off the bed in a giant hug from Scorpia. I hadn’t heard her enter. “Oh come here!” Scorpia gathered us all into a hug, which made us all chuckle.  
We all sat on the bed talking for a long while and Perfuma and Scorpia told me I could stay the night here. “Thanks.” I said weakly but with a smile.   
“This is typical of your moms Finn. I promise they will be over it by morning.” Perfuma kissed my head before her and Scorpia left the room.  
This time Flora tackled me causing us to both laugh again before curling up and falling asleep.


End file.
